Va. Gov. McDonnell signs landmark transportation bill. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell last week signed the breakthrough transportation funding bill passed by the General Assembly in March. The "Virginia's Road to the Future" bill, the first comprehensive transportation funding plan in 27 years, provides an additional $3.5 billion in funding by 2018 for new road and bridge construction, mass transit, rail and other needs, along with several reforms to improve project development. The bill, which goes into effect July 1, eliminates the 17.5 cent-per-gallon tax on motor fuels and replaces it with a percentage-based sales tax of 3.5 percent for gasoline and 6 percent for diesel fuel. More money for maintenance will come from ...